Rats Who Find Landmines

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I saw this on the Amazing Race last night. It was great. In Mozamibique they have trained rats to search fields for land mines. The little guys wear harnesses and walk along on strings. When they start to dig, a person knows where a mine is and then land mine defusers can step in. The mice can find the landmines because they are trained to smell the explosives. So, they can find metal or plastic mines. Plus, someone said they are lighter so they are less likely to set off the mines (one would hope so or the inevitable result would not be pretty). These, by the way, are HUGE rats. But, cute. You can find more here at apopo.org. Donate if you can. These rats are making Mozambique safer for everyone.